


Merlin Fanart Compilation 2020

by djiange



Series: Merlin fanart [5]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bottom Merlin (Merlin), Canonical Character Death, Comic, Crossdressing, Fanart, Fluff, M/M, Meta, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:28:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 5,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22217809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/djiange/pseuds/djiange
Summary: What the title says and some of my gibberish meta. Each chapter stands alone, mainly merthur. (Major character death in ch.1, 2, 5. NSFW in ch.3. Softcore gore in ch.7. See chapter titles for more info/warnings.)23 December 2020, updated in chapter 17.
Relationships: Gwaine/Merlin (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merlin fanart [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577680
Comments: 138
Kudos: 465





	1. Orpheus and Eurydice (Major Character Death)

Inspired by the discussion over the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in _Portrait of a Lady on Fire_ (2019).

> When Orpheus, having been told that he can rescue his beloved from the underworld on the condition that he not look at her until they’ve escaped, turns to glance at Eurydice, thereby trapping her in hades forever.

My take-away here is that, in the discussion, one suggests that perhaps it was _Eurydice_ who called for Orpheus to turn around. I'm really obsessed with this notion that Eurydice is no longer the passive victim, but an active agent of her own fate. (The original context in the film is more about artist-muse/lover relationship tho)

If Merlin had given Arthur a chance, a choice, Arthur wouldn’t have wanted Merlin to go this far, to go way too far for the fear of losing control, of losing Arthur; he would never have wanted Merlin to be his Lady Macbeth, nor his little mermaid. (Sadly he'd already been both.) This has to come to an end, and thus when Arthur said “I want you to always be you,” he was actually saying “Never be cruel, never be cowardly, and let it be, Merlin.”

Arthur would have wanted to fight against the terror, against this supercilious prophecy, with Merlin, for Merlin, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand. In that case, even if had they fought in vain, if they had failed to twist the doom eventually, they could have always said: “Despite so many ordeals, the nobility of my soul makes me conclude that all is well.”

-

(drew this thinking about the above but you can see it as a stand alone. i just need to get this image out of my system)

As Merlin agreed to turn around, they decided to make love for one last time.

When they finished in sync, Arthur leaned forward to put a kiss on Merlin’s ear, and said: “Let me see your face.”


	2. Alternate Finale (Major Character Death)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the record i know it’s childish to use arthur’s own words to hurt him, but i really want some cheap melodramatic angst

“Don’t cry, sire. No man is worth your tears, remember? Look what we’ve got; you survived Camlann, and I fulfilled my destiny. I call it win-win at little cost. It’s alright. It’s just Merlin.”

I've always felt there’s a slight difference between the duo on how they view self-sacrifice. In spite of their common interest in keenly dying for each other, Arthur's logic is that he would try to save merlin’s life at all cost, even if it means his death - could be reckless, but understandable, like a typical romantic protagonist - whereas merlin genuinely believes that he’s nobody, that it’s a perfect bargain to exchange his own life for Arthur’s.

If Merlin died instead of Arthur in the finale, Merlin would probably be satisfied; at least he didn’t lose everything for nothing.

…but as an angst sucker I really really love this canon ending. (sorry merls i can’t help it) The more merthur fix-it fics I read the more conscious I am of the fact that, for all we know, they’ve only lived one life, in which Merlin never trusted Arthur enough the way Arthur trusted him while Arthur never loved Merlin enough the way Merlin loved him, and they never truly knew each other, truly understood each other. Despite all the intensity, all the could-haves and should-haves I never think they’d make it in canon (not because of the no homo part but their cowardice and cruelty) and that’s melancholically beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My expansion of the caption: [Lies Your Servant Told You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24698917).


	3. Clothing kink (NSFW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EXTREMELY ROUGH DOODLES.

**Boyfriend's Shirt**

(to be honest since they are the same height, i don't really think it'd have a effect like this. also merlin's own tunic is pretty ariana-grande-ish)

**Cosplay**

Arthur as [young Artoria Pendragon in fgo](https://i.imgur.com/ITcIQHr.png), Merlin as [Merlin in fgo](https://i.imgur.com/JcFj5f7.png)

(drew this on last halloween but don't feel like add it to 2019's compilation so i'll leave it here. the idea is that a crossdressing arthur fucks merlin from behind and with every thrust his skirt caresses merlin's cheeks)

**Suits**


	4. Merwaine in the Tavern (Short Comic, Light Angst)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *implied one-sided merwaine

what i really love in this: 1) despite merlin's smoothness (see how he flirts with gwen, freya, sefa, etc.), he can't help himself around arthur, and 2) gwaine the playboy falls for a lovesick fool who only has eyes for another. 

my headcanon for these two is that both merlin and gwaine is that kind of person who'd only love once in their life. they may watch the one they love settle for another or they may even settle down themselves one day, and the love they hold may change its shape, but it'll never fade.


	5. (Major Character Death, Heavy Meta)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I left some maybe unpleasant opinions in this chapter, please be aware.  
> My friend and I call Merlin “medieval Walter White” so you know my stance on his moral compass.

“I am not your savior. I am no hero. I am Merlin for Arthur, only for Arthur.”

-

> I heard you telling lies  
> I heard you say you weren’t born of our blood  
> I know we’re the crooked kind  
> But you’re crooked too, boy, and it shows
> 
> \- The Crooked Kind, Radical Face

-

I've always wanted Merlin and Morgana to be Han and Leia as a team against the tyrannical Camelot or Professor X and Magneto as frenemies who fight for wizard rights while hold conflicting views on revolution, yet Merlin was never truly a rebellious type, nor the messiah of his kin. He didn’t _really_ care if there were more of his kin suffering from witch hunting for every passing second when he didn’t stand up for magic, busy playing house with Pendragons; the whole thing is more like a footnote on his way to save his beloved little prince.

If Merlin’s fellow wizards cried “do you hear the people sing?” Merlin would probably be like “oh ffs will u stop that? u r just living under the fear of being alienated n executed but my bf has his daddy issues n weight management to deal with! do you know how hard he works on it? so be patient you ungrateful shits.”

Joking aside, here is a scene in _The Great Debaters_ (2007) where one of the characters questioned her opponent during their debate on whether “negroes should be admitted to state universities” when her opponent claimed that the day was not today:

> Well, would you kindly tell me when is that day going to come? Is it going to come tomorrow? Is it going to come next week? In a hundred years? Never? No, the time for justice, the time for freedom, and the time for equality, is always - is always - right now!

I’ve seen someone reply to Alex Vlahos’ tweet about Mordred’s regicide with “you’ve always got choice.” Yes, apparently Merlin had made his own. Merlin wouldn’t be the pioneer of the wizard resistance force nor the headmaster of wizard school - he wouldn’t even openly reject to relinquish his seat in the sorcerer section to a muggle passenger if they had bus at Camelot; instead, he would lie for Arthur, kill for Arthur, hate for Arthur, as long as he believed that it was good for Arthur - ironically enough though, it turned out he had no clue what it was. Merlin was never an ally of justice but an ally of Arthur and Arthur only.

I like Merlin for this not-so-heroic side, for screwing “with great power comes the great responsibility,” for his silence as a form of endorsement of Pendragons’ enduring atrocities.

(A note here, I say “Pendragons” because I don’t think Arthur could ever evade his responsibility for being an accomplice to the persecution - for all we know, the oppression didn’t stop in his reign even though he himself had once tried to seek help from sorcery to save his father. A timeless hero will always overcome the limit of the surroundings and their internalized perspectives; sadly, neither Arthur nor Merlin was one - but again, I like them this way. I like that the story is more of a cautionary tale than a heroic epic.)

The whole point of two against the world is that one will stand by the other’s side, _especially_ when the other is on the opposite side of justice. The reason that love has been portrayed in various media of art from time to time isn't that it's morally positive; on the contrary it's beyond reason, conscience or aesthetic. It represents the profound dialectics in humanity, which makes the evil melt in tenderness and despair, and the good lost in callousness and mania.

Back to that reply to Alex’s tweet, “you’ve always got choice.” As I understand Arthur and Merlin’s choices, I also identify with Morgana and Mordred’s. How is agency constructed? Is it possible for individuals to speak in a language that can be heard without structural privileges? Both Morgana and Mordred were, of course, responsible for their own deeds, but it’s really cruel to give a lecture about some Kantian nonsense when loathsome systematic mistreatment was happening to marginalized individuals. Not everyone is Gandhi and there is no need for everyone to become Gandhi. Those who see revenge transgresses justice will also see forgiveness denotes betrayal. History has proved that when the real justice is absent, terror will act for it.

-

(I don’t feel like adding a new chapter for this one so I’ll just plug it here. And honestly I don’t know what to caption after rambling above. The thing is that Merlin, the mighty warlock all of time, could give up _everything_ \- his duties as the savior, his conscience, his dignity and his desires - for his muggle king but there was no vice versa.)


	6. Arthur Being Uncharacteristically Affectionate (Fluff, Age Difference)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just need some soft caring sensitive affectionate arthur

> Chlorine kissed summer skin
> 
> I miss missing you now and then
> 
> _Miss Missing You_ \- Fall Out Boy

-

Arthur comforting Merlin without context

...I did come up with some other premises about this tho, something like a _The Time Traveler's Wife_ and _The Sword in the Stone_ fusion.

Merlin travels through time, to teach Arthur, finding Arthur where Arthur cannot follow. Arthur urges to grow into his future self who can stand equally by Merlin's side, while Merlin longs to become as mature and strong as Arthur remembers along the way they have passed together.

Not quite related, but I was listening to [なきむし(Crybaby)](https://youtu.be/IRLwWqDSzaU) in the process and its lyrics fit Merlin's POV here pretty well (I did an English version below but some nuances were lost in translation so... you get the idea):

> 僕は泣き虫で 悔しくて  
> だけど、もっともっと強くなるから  
> あなたのことを守れるような僕になるから  
> だから、少し待ってて
> 
> I‘m such a crybaby, and it hurts to admit.  
> Though, I'm trying to be stronger and stronger.  
> I'll be able to protect you.  
> So, wait just a little longer.


	7. Dark Merlin (Softcore Gore)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dark!merlin, tw: blood
> 
> (the butterflies are a nod to the ones in the show, and also a ref to their corpse-comsuming habit)

“You know I take no pleasure killing people, right? Sire?”

based on a comic idea i came up with a while ago but didn't feel like developing:

“When Arthur was five, he wouldn't even kill a rat found in his chamber until Uther forced him to kill the dog he had petted for months. Later he began to tell others he had been trained to kill since birth.

“When Merlin was three or four, he used to torture birds and butterflies to death with his magic, just to see them lively and then not. Later he stopped doing it because he learned from Hunith it wasn't very nice.”

Merlin always appears real chill when he kills, which makes me wonder if he is that kind of person who carries out acts of goodness only out of the cognition of the ethical principles they acquire from others instead of empathy, and will decisively abandon their moral compass once a collision of interests happens. Despite being less culpable than Morgana's terrorist attacks on Camelot(intentional wickedness), his endorsement of Pendragon regime(willful disregard/recklessness) implies he'd also sacrifice people's lives in exchange for what he considers more utilitarian just as Morgana did.


	8. FGO AU (Fluff, Age Difference)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is a fate/grand order au but can be seen as a loose legendary setting, just merthur being mentor and protégé. I just really wanna draw merlin in his fgo counterpart’s outfits.

The Magus of Flowers and The Holy Sword Wielder of Stars (which are the titles of their counterparts in fgo)

Merlin: What’s the matter, sire?

Arthur: Ah, nothing.

Arthur: *thinking* This man... looks like a bride...

[Years Later]

Merlin: ...and you said something like “I want to be Merlin’s bride when I grow up.”

Adult Arthur: L I A R.

(seeing kid/teen!arthur arguing with merlin, his mentor, over everything while secretly worrying he’s not strong or powerful enough to fight by this great warlock’s side on account of his youth and muggleness makes me awwwwwww all the time)

-

a prompt of kid!mordred from twitter cuz #SixFanartsChallenge. i'll just plug it here.


	9. unrequited Gwaine→Merlin→Arthur (Angst, Heavy Meta)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> merwaine but kinda unrequited, also merthur but unrequited.

Tickle.

-

Tavern tale.

-

The night of the Queen's Coronation.

"He doesn’t deserve you."

"Doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want me."

-

It's kind of funny that despite myself, I'm totally fine with Arthur not reciprocating Merlin's feelings - well, not _totally_ , but I can cope with it by crying in the nearest corner.  
  
It was more easy for Merlin to think Arthur didn't love him back instead of knowing it wasn't true, knowing it was just _not enough_ and breaking the resolution to risk his poorly left dignity. To be fair, if anyone could ever be loved like Merlin was loved by Arthur, that should be more than enough for a lifetime. But for Merlin, for his low self-esteem and insecurity, for his irrationally betting all the significance of his life and the meaning of actuality into this one single desire, knowing Camelot would always come before him in Arthur’s heart - if not other things or people - was to know there would be some point in time when he needed Arthur while Arthur wasn't there for him, and that would be the last straw if he had hoped for more than he should. There were so many times in the show when Merlin was so broken inside and Arthur just didn't notice, not to mention the whole magic thing. A simple truth is that if you had loved one enough, if you had cared enough, if you had only watched, you would have seen. (And that's why i always feel kinda sad seeing a pining Arthur or a sensitive/observant Arthur in fanfic, which makes me too conscious of the contrary fact in canon *sobbing*)

I'd give Arthur some credits for his reaction to the revelation, though. If I were him, I’d be awfully appalled by what merlin had done and hidden through the years (let's just spare the irony that this man child who happened to be an accomplice of persecution himself was no much better than merlin) and perhaps time would heal the wound someday, yet things weren't going to be the same. But instead, Arthur accepted it almost smoothly, going straight to "do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make any difference" level. Therefore, in spite of the circumstance in which he were too dense to figure out what the thing between merlin and him truly was or would never take any action confessing/courting on his own, he trusted Merlin with his whole heart after all. I'd say there was a promising start on Arthur's part if Merlin would give it a try, but Merlin ran first when things were good and everything began to fall apart from then on.  
  
Although both the duo were quite asshole of a person to certain extent, Merlin had way too much more issues than Arthur in a personal sense. Merlin was so obsessed that his devotion to Arthur became deification rather than normal romantic feelings. Also he was control freak af; he needed Arthur to need him. I find it quite fascinating how this control freak side of his appeared in two opposite forms in his character. On one hand, he thought so little of himself that he wouldn't dare to entertain any high hope about this delicate relationship, which made him extremely reserved/withdrawn and keep pushing Arthur away to Gwen at the attempt that if he couldn't control its happening at least he could control when and how the hurt happened, to manage the damage control inside himself by giving up the pursuit of happiness. On the other hand, he was so condescending, as if Arthur was simply an ignorant muggle - yes he kinda was, but that's not how you treat your friends - manipulating Arthur into a life which he believed was best for Arthur, which was almost like Uther did in the name of love. it’d be really suffocating to have a partner being this fixated, insecure and arrogant all in the meantime.  
  
But then again, despite what I mentioned in an earlier chapter that "Merlin never trusted Arthur enough the way Arthur trusted him while Arthur never loved Merlin enough the way Merlin loved him, and they never truly knew each other, truly understood each other" and all the other problems in this codependent relationship, I ship Merthur so hard for the unreasonable raw intensity between them. There's something between them I just can’t explain - or in Arthur's word, I can't put my finger on - like what Lacan called "lack," and that's prolly where the destiny truly lies if it's not a fraud.  
  
For all the reconcilement with Arthur's part, however, I can't stand the idea that Gwaine didn't love Merlin. Merlin's obsession with Arthur and Gwaine's affection for Merlin are like a part rooted in their character; it feels...off without it.

Quite frankly, I ship Merwaine more like best friends with benefits forever (if it's a thing) rather than lovers, on the premises that Gwaine knew Merlin would always love Arthur and Merlin knew Gwaine knew that. For Merlin, it's about seeking a little company or comfort from someone cares for him enough, and for Gwaine it's about believing it's worth it to be Merlin's second best; he only wants Merlin to be happy.  
  
The only one thing I'd say writers had mercy on Merwaine for is that they didn't give Gwaine the magic revelation they did Arthur. Since they didn't let Gwaine claim he didn't know about Merlin's magic, I'll just have him in my headcanon knowing it all along. Come to think of it, it's actually pretty in character if Gwaine knew without Merlin knowing he knew. Gwaine wouldn't nudge him about the magic thing if Merlin didn't tell him first. Lancelot was that kind of friend who'd support you while point out what the right thing to do. Gwaine, however, right or wrong he'd always support you nevertheless; he'd never try to lecture you about how to live your life. (I personally prefer this Gwainesque friend than Lancelot a lot. I mean, we are all adults and none of us really know better than another, aren't we? All I need from a friend is support when I've made up my mind.)  
  
Btw, I feel Gwaine is like the epitome of this fandom lol. 1) He took care of Merlin. 2) He was in love with Merlin. 3) He would be happy if Merlin was loved by the one Merlin loved, even if it wasn’t him.

*Added something I wrote in the comment.


	10. Lust, Caution AU (Off-screen Major Character Death)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU based on Eileen Chang’s novella "Lust, Caution."

1950s. Merlin, a college student from Magic User Resistance, was sent to set a stage for the assassination of MI5 agent Arthur Pendragon, who had inherited his father’s mantle, purging sorcerers in the name of fighting espionage and terrorism.

Merlin went to the antique shop where Arthur wanted to buy him a token while Merlin’s teammates were waiting in ambush outside the shop.

There was a whimsical instant when merlin decided that he had to save Arthur. It wasn’t about if the choice was worth it or not - of course it was not, and Merlin knew that crystal clear, yet he _had_ to. Merlin let go of Arthur at the last moment and hence sabotaged the whole mission, which exposed his teammates and resulted in the torture and execution of the team including himself.

(UGH wanna make it into a fic so bad but i really don’t think my broken english could manage a political thriller)

The original story’s premise is similar to Operation Anthropoid - with the background set in WWII, Morgana’s counterpart who was a radical leader of a student resistance organization, recruited her fellow student Merlin’s counterpart who had a slight crush on her, to be a part of their assassination of Arthur’s counterpart who was a high-rank official in the puppet government under the fascist invaders’ control - but Chang introduced an alternative narrative that deviated from the grand accounts of salvation and revolution in the tide of time when all the values tended to be futile and individuals were torn by the uncertainties of chaotic modern society. 

I know Merlin is a medieval show but - I don’t think the creators did this intentionally since it’s a family-oriented show - its narrative is pretty 20th-century-ish tbf. It is more of a cautionary tale than a heroic epic, catching a glimpse of paradoxes in modernism. Both Merlin and Lust, Caution cast off the matanarrative by bringing into focus specific local contexts as well as the diversity of human experience. There is for sure an urgency of eradicating magical persecution and renouncing muggle supremacy, but the story isn’t about liberation or redemption; it’s about love.

Merlin neglects his duty of Messiah, betrays his own kin, and disregards his moral compass; instead, he endorses an oppressive regime, protects two tyrants who purge magic while exploit magic when they see fit, seals the dense man-child king in this fantasied bubble of honour and justice, and never actively promote the process of top-down reform of the penal system, like deconstructing the profiles of criminals so that the causality between the crimes and identities would be enfeebled, or telling Arthur what JFK said in Berlin: “Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free." (I always find it super funny that despite Merlins inconsistency and hypocrisy he genuinely believes his deeds can be justified by "I have no choice.” If Merlin considers that Sophia and other guest villains deserve death or poisoning Morgana in Season 2 is a must-do (i.e. killing the killer or trading another’s life for “the greater good” is valid), then he should have killed Uther long time ago. He never really lacks for choices; he just won’t accept the ones that likely upsets Arthur.)

Merlin does all these in the name of love (not specifically in romantic/sexual sense, of course). And deep in his heart he only knows too well it’s unfair or unwise, but he simply suppresses the sentiment and pretends it’s exactly what he wants. Although I've been saying I'd love to have Mergana team up, the truth is, Merlin would always do the same thing; it wouldn't be different otherwise. Arthur Pendragon has put the lack (of "being whereby his being exists") into Merlin. He is the drive, the force of self-destructiveness inside Merlin. He is the only answer to this aporia. Thus however the universe changes, sooner or later - usually later - Merlin always chooses Arthur. The belatedness and futility in Chang's writing fits the core of Merthur pretty well.

Also, what hurts more is that Merlin doesn't even choose love over justice; he chooses his short-sighted obsession over everything, including the possible romance. While he says he doesn't want to put Arthur in that position, he doesn't do it for sparing Arthur from the pressure of choice-making; he doesn't dare to offer Arthur the choice to not choose him. Merlin makes the choice for both of them; he chooses this delusional, delicate balance between them for the fear of losing control, of losing Arthur (in every possible sense). If he loved Arthur like a normal love interest instead of this death drive planted deep in him, he'd have seen (or cared) people suffering in every passing second and helped Arthur see it too rather than being totally a slave of passion.

*did a silvertone version.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw if anyone's intereted, Ang Lee (dir. of Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi) has directed a film adaptation of the original novella.


	11. unrequited Gwaine→Merlin→Arthur (Angst)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> unrequited merthur, unrequited merwaine, implied arwen

304 coda or any other time when they had to say good bye and Gwaine only knew too well what he couldn’t ask for.

It actually hurts more for gwaine to get to have it off with merlin because it only happens under the circumstance that arthur doesn’t reciprocate merlin’s feelings. Gawine is that kind of silly bean who’d rather see merlin happy even if that means his own blue balls and a broken heart.

I didn't draw hickeys and bruises at first but added them because despite my headcanon that Gwaine wasn’t really a possessive person, there might be certain moment like this he would want to mark Merlin out of a bit of jealousy and self-indulgence and later he would pretend the second best was all he ever wanted。

-

The Queen’s coronation 2.0

*see 1.0 at chapter 9

-

Pilgrimage.

“You’d hate the tourists, but I brought the flowers.”

*[The original King-Arthur-inspired sculpture at Tintagel](https://mymodernmet.com/rubin-eynon-bronze-sculpture-gallos/) is made by Rubin Eynon.


	12. My Headcanon (Crack maybe?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (no one asks but here's my merlin headcanon. i mean, love triangle is an indispensable necessity in arthurian romance, so)

  * top 3 fav characters: merlin, morgana, gwaine. (irish gang yay)
  * top 3 fav ships: merthur, mergana, merwaine.
  * my only hard no on the ships involving merlin is gwen/merlin... i just, don't get it. (imo they're like schuyler sisters with gwen being not so clueless a girl as eliza. gwen is a brilliant and sensitive person who would definitely notice merlin's poorly hidden feelings if she cared. so that leaves gwen either not caring merlin that much like we'd like to think of her, or knowing merlin's heart but still choosing to marry her supposed bff's love of his life.)
  * don't really ship ships without merlin, ESPECIALLY arthur/others and gwaine/others. (sorry i’m such a petty person.) except for pre-canon morgana/arthur. i love that pendragon siblings thought it was more than enough that at least they had each other and all the time ahead, but then, boom, here comes the peasant boy.
  * and every time seeing arthur/others or gwaine/others i feel like a teenager trying to play it cool when they see the new family of the parent they don't live with after the divorce because they know it's not their life choice to make and splitting up might be in fact a better choice and wanna act like an adult but deep down they just cry like it's the fckn end of the world (sorry i’m not only petty but also really melodramatic)
  * btw merlin is a sub vers bttm in dis house and i'm too vulnerable to see him otherwise




	13. Remix of Old Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> my merlin version faceyourart challenge (including a tiny lil bit of nsfw). the complete 2019 part can be found at [Merlin Fanart Compilation 2019](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20323696).

2019

2020


	14. Reincarnation AU (Fluff and Light Angst)

Someday my prince will come,

Someday we will meet again.

(though, there's an undertone that despite everything they never meet each other in an ideal state.)

*silvertone version:

-

(this isn't related to the ones above, just something i drew a while ago but forgot to post in the earlier chapter)

The widowed, half a century after Camlann.


	15. Fairytale about Pendragon Siblings & Merlin (Light Angst )

Once upon a time, there were two dolls in the showcase.

Until one day, a boy came and stole one.

-

Have this au in my head for quite a while. It perfectly covers what i love about Pendragon Siblings and Merlin, like T mentioned in chapt. 12 “the trio is like esmeralda, pheobus & the archdeacon as well as ur childhood sweetheart, chad & u (merlin is esmeralda and chad respectively in the said analogies).” 

This is about Morgana’s hatred. She grudges Merlin taking Arthur away from her as much as she resents him not choosing her. She loathes Arthur for leaving her behind as much as she envies him having Merlin on his side.


	16. Fluff (Saukura/Fate Fusion AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Saukura Fusion AU, with Yukito(/Yue)!Merlin, Touya!Arthur, Sakura!Morgana and Tomoyo!Gwen. (a bit of Fate series neta, blink you'll miss it)

**Top left corner:** (Well, welcome to our show _Today's Menu for the Merlin Family_ ) Merlin: Arthur said he wanted to eat crab croquette, but aren't there already potatoes in the curry...

 **Top right corner:** Surprisingly good at sports, his specialty is throwing baton. (of course, it is magic)

**Middle:** Merlin: Trace on. Aithusa: Fou!

**Bottom left corner:** Merlin Tsukishiro (16), Mahou shojo (magical girl)

**Bottom right corner:** Morgana Kinomoto (10), Gwen Daidouji (11)

Gwen: You are very cute, Maly-chan

Merlin: Who's Maly-chan?!

Morgana: My idiot brother must love this

Merlin: Oi, isn't that your dragon? Why am I the one who plays Sakura?!

 **Around Arthur:** Arthur Kinomoto (17), IDIOT BROTHER

Arthur:*transferring his hidden magical power to save Merlin's life before falling down in a swoon* It doesn't matter what you are. I'm good as long as you don't disappear, as long as you're by my side. So, do protect yourself, Emrys.

(this is mainly Touya's original words. suit merthur's situation pretty well.)

-

(not related with the AU above, but i'd like to post it in this chapter as well. MY NEW KEYCHAIN EVERYONE!!)


	17. Fluff (Black Butler AU merthur & Revolutionary Girl Utena AU morgwen)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Butler Merlin and Revolutionary Girl Morgana.

*translation: "I am Demon Merlin/just Merlin." (It's a pun and the tagline of the character in Black Butler.)

"Bloody fat brat."

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A friend told me a while ago that she didn't understand how Morgana could be so cruel to Gwen who was once so dear to her. My take on this is that it’s exactly because Gwen was once so dear to her that Morgana is pained so much by Gwen’s endorsement of Pendragon regime, her choice of the other side which denies Morgana's kind. I get Gwen’s pragmatic choice of settling for a marriage to an acceptable man in power given her predicament after her old master’s revolt and her father’s execution (also being the one with the least privileges as a commoner as well as a muggle) but still, a betrayal is a betrayal. it's like that famous Baldwin quote "we can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist." (To be frankly I have no idea how people could downplay Morgana and Mordred and so many others' sufferings with "Can't we all just get along?")

If it was an (obnoxiously) Americanized Netflix show, Gwen would crusade against tyrannical Camelot because she finally understood JFK's "freedom is indivisible" after her father's unfair death. And she would likely be the one saving the world at the end of the day when Morgana was reduced to the opportunist-masquerading-as-activist kind of terrorist, and Merthur were busy playing house, pretending Arthur’s weight management and daddy issues or Merlin’s control freakiness was important than the Magical Lives Matter campaign or anything else.

(I like the BBC version better, though. There is no hero, but only selfish cowards.)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Lies Your Servant Told You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24698917) by [djiange](https://archiveofourown.org/users/djiange/pseuds/djiange)




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